Sanballat, in an open letter to Nehemiah, again reproaches them with rebellion.
Verse 20
Nehemiah replied with impressive gravity: “The God of heaven, He will prosper us, and we His servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.” צדקה like 2Sa 19:29. זכּרון, memorial; only members of the congregation, who may hope to live in their descendants in Jerusalem, can be said to have a memorial there. The Building of the Walls and Gates of Jerusalem - Neh 3:1
In these two chapters is described the building of the walls and gates of Jerusalem: the individuals and families who performed the work, and the portion of wall and the gates on which different families were respectively employed, being specified in Neh 3; ; while the attempts of Sanballat and his associates to obstruct the building and the defensive measures resorted to by Nehemiah follow, 4:1-17.
Verses 1-32. The enumeration of the builders, and of the gates and portions of wall built, begins with the sheep-gate and the portion of the wall adjoining it, built by the priests (Neh 3:1 and Neh 3:2), and concludes with the goldsmiths and merchants who built up to the sheep-gate (Neh 3:32). Throughout it is almost constantly said of the several parties of builders that they built ידו על, by the side of, next to, the party previously named. Hence we are justified in inferring that the course of the wall is adhered to in this statement, and that the gates are mentioned in the actual order in which they were found in the walls.[1]
Chap. 3
Verse 1
The narrative of the building is connected with what precedes by ויּקם, which alludes to the carrying out of the resolve, נקוּם, Neh 2:18. The
- ↑ This description of the walls of Jerusalem, together with the short statements in Neh 2:13-15 and Neh 12:27-40, forms the chief authority for the topography of ancient Jerusalem (before the captivity), and has been frequently discussed and explained. Comp. a summary of recent topographical investigations on this subject by Arnold in Herzog's Realencycl. xviii. p. 620f. Among the numerous plans of ancient Jerusalem, the best is: A plan of the town and environs of Jerusalem, constructed by C. W. M. Van de Velde; with Memoir by Dr. Titus Tobler, 1858, Gotha.
